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Glucose Test

Hi Ladies.....

I went in for my 1 hour glucose test yesterday and got my results back this morning. I failed.

The RN said my levels came back slightly elevated. My levels were at 147. The cutoff is 134. I have go back in on Tues for the 3 hour test. She told me even if my levels came back at exactly 134, I would still need to come back in for the 3 hour test because the levels are too close to borderline. I was kind of concern that I tested high and the RN said my levels are higher than they would like me to be, but that's not considered high. She told me that other women who do test high come back with levels in the 200s. To be honest, that did not make me feel the least better that I failed my 1 hour test. She gave me all the instructions over the phone to prep for Tues test...the overloading on carbs and the fasting. Sounds absolutely dreadful.

On top of that, I came back with low iron. But I already have a tendency to have low iron even before I became pregnant. So now, I have to take 45mg of iron daily.

I had a hunch I should've limited my sweets and carbs during the week, but I didn't listen to my hunch. Ahhhhh.....I was eating sweets and carbs up to the night before testing. What was I thinking.

Anyone here failed the first glucose test but passed the 2nd one? I'm worried that I won't pass the 3 hour test. Oh and when the RN said to overload on carbs on Sun and Mon - how much more carbs am I suppose to eat? A little more than I already do? Or can I keep eating the same amount as I already do for Sun and Mon as I already tested high on my 1 hour glucose test? I don't really want to "overload" or over do it.

Hi Lilacs - I failed my 1 hr with DS#2. I just had my OB appt right before and they told me it was fine to eat beforehand. Stupidly, I had a muffin about an hour before my test and of course, I failed. I did the 3 hour and I wasn't told to overload on carbs or anything, to just try and eat healthy and I passed the 3 hour!

Good luck hun! Hopefully, someone else can help with the "overloading on carbs" question.

Sorry to hear you failed the 1 hour. I've read from many women on here that they fail the 1 hour, but go on to pass the 3 hour. In fact, the American Association of Obsterics, is now recomending that women start out with taking a 2 hour test, as it is more accurate, and it would eliminate the need for so many needing to take the 3 hour test.

I'm not sure what they expect you to do if they told you to overload on carbs. Can you call them back and get more specific instructions? You also could try doing a search on this site to see if others have posted about this before.

I called my OB's office and asked for clarification. They want me to eat a little more carbs than I normally do for Sun and Mon. They said not by a lot, just a little more....to do what I was doing the last several days leading up to my test yesterday. The last several days, I've been snacking on cookies, muffins, chocolates -- they're all over my house because of the holidays. On Mon evening, I have to start fasting until the next day for my test. They explained that they want to see how my body process or breaks the sugar from the 2 days before. They will draw my blood first thing when I arrive for my 3 hour glucose test to see what my levels are, then I drink the glucose, wait one hour, get my blood drawn again. I'll repeat this for the next 2 hours.

I did an online search about the carb overload and turns out there are quite a bit of people that have been instructed by their OBs to this for their 3 hour test. The results seem to be very extreme from what I read. A lot of people said that they failed because they "overloaded" on carbs. And there were also a lot of people who said that they followed their doctors instructions on the overloading on carbs and passed. I've also read that there people that were never instructed to do the carb overload for their 3 hour test so they just ate normally...complex carbs and protein 3 days before going in for the test...and passed.

I have a feeling that the only reason why I didn't pass my 1 hour test was because I was eating and snacking on a ton of carbs and sweets during the week especially on the weekend. I usually don't eat a ton of sweets or carbs....it's the holidays and I've got chocolates and cookies all around the house. I had a hunch and didn't listen to my instincts and failed the test. I'm tempted to not listen to their instructions on the overloading on carbs. I didn't listen to my hunch before so this time around, I feel like I should listen to my instincts.

So now, I'm more worried than before. I feel like if I overload on carbs I will fail this 3 hour test for sure and I've read if I fail.....it'll be completely dreadful - the constant blood test I have to take everyday several times a day, even after the baby is born. I'm worried if I don't follow the instructions, I might botch the test results.

Do you ladies think I'll be ok just eating healthy and normally for the 3 hour test instead of overloading on carbs?

My thoughts on those tests is to eat how you normally eat. If you normally only eat healthy foods then stick to that. If you normally have a lot of carbs, then have those. I tend to eat lots of carbs to start with. I ate normally the days leading up to the test, but then didn't eat breakfast before my test. You have to do what you feel comfortable with.

A lady from my doctor's office called me this morning to confirm my appt for Tues and I asked her to clarify the carb overload thing again. She told me that the nurse who gave me these instructions should've clarified what kind of carbs I should be eating. Anyways, this she told me that I should be eating complex carbs....like beans, rice, pasta, toast, potatoes. And when they say "overload" they mean to just increase the amount by a little. So if I normally eat half a cup of rice...eat a whole cup of rice. If I normally eat half piece of toast, eat a whole piece of toast. If I hadn't asked again and read up.....I think I would be ignorantly be eating muffins and brownies like some of the ladies I've read in other forums and ended up failing their 3 hour test.

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